The present invention relates to multiple pump assemblies (also called multiple pumps) in general, and more particularly to improvements in multiple pump assemblies which consist exclusively of or include at least one radial piston pump.
It is already known to assemble a multiple pump assembly of as many as four discrete coaxial radial piston pumps and to provide for all of the pumps a common prime mover having an output shaft which carries eccentrics serving to reciprocate the pistons of the radial piston pumps. A drawback of such multiple pump assemblies is that they must employ a large-diameter output shaft which should be capable of withstanding substantial torsional stresses and which, to this end, must be mounted in heavy-duty bearings between each pair of neighboring pumps. This contributes excessively to the dimensions (especially axial length), weight, bulk and initial and maintenance cost of the multiple pump assembly.